COLUMBUS, Ohio - In what he called part two of his Thursday announcement, Ohio governor Mike DeWine turned to laying out how the state will continue to monitor and control the coronavirus for the remainder of the year. 

DeWine unveiled a new warning system that will break the state down by county change based upon the level of new coronavirus infections locally. 

Under the new system, Trumbull county has the highest risk in the Valley, falling under a red-level public emergency. Mahoning falls under an orange level and Columbiana has the lowest risk, which is yellow. 

The governor pointed to community spread of the virus in every county and increasing cases around the state as a concerning trend, but one that is affecting different areas of the state in different ways. 

 

"All of the great actions Ohioans have taken are in danger, frankly, of being reversed," DeWine said. 

He said the new system will be color-coded based upon four levels of severity of the virus in each county.  

The levels will be based on seven sets of data looking back over the previous three weeks. Those levels include: 

1. New cases per capita. When a county has 50 cases per 100,000 in a two week period, this would trigger a "flag." 

2. Five days of increased growth in the spread of the virus. 

3. The amount of cases that are outside of congregate settings, such as nursing homes and prisons. 

4. Incidence of illness based upon telehealth appointments or emergency room visits. An increase in emergency room visits over five days triggers a "flag." 

5. Sustained increase in outpatient visits. Similar to the above indicator, this is believed to be an early indicator of the virus, before positive tests arise. 

6. Hospitalizations. A sustained increase in new coronavirus hospitalizations would trigger a "flag." 

7. Intensive care bed occupancy. DeWine said this serves as a strong indicator of hospital resource usage. A county is flagged if ICU occupancy hits 80 percent for three days. 

Alert level one will be yellow, which will mean a county has triggered 0-1 of the indicators listed above. Currently, 53 Ohio counties are at this level, including Columbiana county. 

At this level, the existing guidelines that are in place across the state remain, but no new restrictions are imposed. 

Alert level two, orange, means a county has triggered two of the indicators. 28 counties are at this level, including Mahoning county. At this level, the existing guidelines remain in place.

Alert level three, red, means a county has a very high risk and has hit four or five of the indicators. Trumbull county is listed as red under this new system. Those counties have multiple outbreaks and any unnecessary travel should be avoided, including church services.

It is being advised that masks should be worn in public at the red level, although a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health said that individual cities and counties may impose their own mask mandates.

Trumbull county commissioner Frank Fuda said when businesses began reopening in May, commissioners asked the county prosecutor's office whether they would have the authority to impose a mask-madate at the county level and were told, at that time, that they did not. Fuda said he plans to speak to the county health department on Thursday to get more guidance on what the governor's announcement might mean. 

 

DeWine pointed out Trumbull county, where he said they've hit four of the indicators listed, have multiple outbreaks, including one in a healthcare facility, and the number of cases per capita has doubled recently. 

"There is a monster in your neighborhood looking for victims," DeWine said. 

Currently, no county has hit alert level four, which would include hitting more than five of the indicators, although DeWine warned Franklin county is moving in that direction. 

This comes one day after DeWine tweeted support for Dayton mayor Nan Whaley's issuing an order that masks be worn in public in that city, a move that was followed on Thursday by the mayor of Columbus as well. 

DeWine urged others at the local level to follow Dayton's example, although he previously walked back a statewide mask requirement after hearing some negative feedback from some residents. 

The new system comes as the number of new cases of the virus in Ohio continue to climb, largely driven by outbreaks in Hamilton and Montgomery counties. 

Youngstown mayor Tito Brown tells 21 News he is open to the possibility of issuing a mask requirement for the city, based upon how this region of the state is handling the virus. Brown said in a text message the mandate is one option he believes many local leaders will consider if it means they can avoid further business shutdowns. 

"The number of cases are going to happen because we're going to do more testing but if you start finding people are being hospitalized more and then you have an issue of deaths as well," said Mayor Brown. "The enforcement is going to be the tough part of instituting a mandatory mask so we have to push it and we have to figure out how to get through that issue."